Chapter one. Javier. It was a beautiful night, the sky was crystal blue the moon and stars were out. It was calming. Buti rarely noticed things like those, i didn't have the time to watch stars. Am sitted on the rooftop of club Ice, i can still hear the music from up here.. I took a sip of my burbon as i held the glass between my fingers looking out at the city. New York is like a different city at night and its the best view from up here.Am hiding from the various women who have been throwing passes at me all night. It's not like i don't like playing with them, but lately i have lost all interest. When you can fuck any woman in New York city whenever you want after a while it's not as exciting anymore. I liked especially models but which meant they were always dumb, so having any kind of conversation with them is always pointless.I look in the mirror and i don't recognoze myself anymore, i am this cold heartless monster, i have officially become my father.My father was a great
Waiting by the window. I hatedI looked at the watch again for the millionth time, nothing. Maybe something was wrong with my phone. I thought to myself as I walked back to the kitchen. "Hey Maria," I said to the housekeeper who was busy washing utensils in the kitchen. "Has Jake called yet?" I asked her hopeful, she stopped what she was doing and looked up at me, I could see the pity in her eyes. She felt sorry for me. "He said he will be late." she finally said, our eyes met, and I tried to hold back the tears welling up. "Oooh," I said awkwardly and walked back to my room. I tried to lie on the bed, still looking at my phone, there was nothing. Jake had called the housekeeper, but he didn't leave me even one message. Maybe I deserved it. I said to myself trying to ignore the urge to break down. I looked at the time again, it was almost ten pm. I put my phone on the night stand and tried to get some sleep. I don't know how long I lay there, unable to do it anymore, I slowly g
JAKE.I watched as Kalia walked back to the house in tears, a part of me wanted to follow her, but I couldn't, she was right to want to leave and I was not going to stop her, but it was not because of what she thought, I was not going to choose Naima over her.My private investigator had just called a few minutes before I walked to join her by the pool. He had told me who was behind the accident, thats what I had come to tell her.But this was my fight with Naima and whoever else was coming after me, I could not drag her into it, especially not when she was carrying my child.Her leaving was for the best for both of us and I needed her to leave angry at me, it was harsh but it was going to work.If Naima found out we were no longer together, she would be off the hook. She would hate me, but she will be safe together with my son.I was not going to be here when she left, I couldn’t. I knew if I stayed there I would never let her leave me, not like that, and telling her my plan would ru
Maya.It had been atleast a few hours since Kalia left. The guilt was killing me. Sitting there, wondering if she was okay. She never even mentioned where she was going, not that we deserved to know anyway after how we had treated her. I had tried calling her phone several times, but it kept on going to voice mail. I sat in the living room in silence, tears threatening my eyes. What had I done.I looked over my mother who seemed like she had just lost a child."I knew she couldn't be trusted from the word go, I knew it." she said painfully as she sat down across from me."Mom, please don't.." i started, but she held her hands up, to stop me."Maya, don't even think about making excuses for her anymore. She betrayed us. I highly doubt that baby is Jake's either""Mom none of this is true, none of it." i blurted out, I couldn't take it anymore.I had wanted a sister for the longest time, a friend I could confide in and I had finally found that in Kalia, and now she was gone.Her face
Maya.It had been atleast a few hours since Kalia left. The guilt was killing me. Sitting there, wondering if she was okay. She never even mentioned where she was going, not that we deserved to know anyway after how we had treated her. I had tried calling her phone several times, but it kept on going to voice mail. I sat in the living room in silence, tears threatening my eyes. What had I done.I looked over my mother who seemed like she had just lost a child."I knew she couldn't be trusted from the word go, I knew it." she said painfully as she sat down across from me."Mom, please don't.." i started, but she held her hands up, to stop me."Maya, don't even think about making excuses for her anymore. She betrayed us. I highly doubt that baby is Jake's either""Mom none of this is true, none of it." i blurted out, I couldn't take it anymore.I had wanted a sister for the longest time, a friend I could confide in and I had finally found that in Kalia, and now she was gone.Her face
Olive. He nodded. “Follow me.”When i saw that he picked up his coffee, i followed him, eating my cookie as i did. We moved towards the gym, and i had noticed earlier a door that i had assumed led to a storage room. It didn’t. I soon came to realize.Alec opened the door, switching on the light and allowing me to enter. The instant we were inside the room, i became aware of the warmth. My wolf moaned against it and seemed to bask in the sudden flush of heat.He didn’t say anything as we moved down a long, old-fashioned flight of stairs that led to a dungeon.“You have a heated dungeon?” i asked surprised.“A long time ago I realized that with a lot of wolves who have been hurt and struggle between packs, warmth helps to soothe them. Calming them is always a challenge, but in these rooms, it helps to relax them, to draw them out. The cold only makes them more violent, and their rage is always in full force. Heated rooms are expensive but necessary. When it comes to the pack, I don’t s
Kalia. After dinner, I went out by the pool. It was a beautiful night, the full moon out along with a sky full of stars. It was so beautiful and calming out here tonight and generally in the country. I had always wanted to raise my family in the country, away from the buzz of the city.I dipped my bare feet into the cold water, getting a certain satisfaction. I was still reeling from dinner, from that made up how we met. I had watched Jake all night, he seemed happy, he was so committed to the fake story that I wondered if he really did remember how we met. He could be a good actor because even I bought it. Which is why it was going to be difficult to read him, to trust him. My phone buzzed, and I looked at the watch on my wrist, it was past eleven almost midnight. Who would be texting me at this hour? Maybe something was wrong with my dad, that was the only reason I could think of why someone would be texting me this late. I quickly got out of the water, rushing to the table
Kalia. The walk back to the car felt like the longest few minutes I had ever experienced in my life. My limbs were heavy, I was feeling dizzy and everything was spinning around in circles. As the engine of my car hummed steadily, my knuckles tightened around the steering wheel, my heart pounding in rhythm with the tires rolling over the asphalt. The world outside seemed blurred, muted even, as if reality itself were slipping from my grasp. Every inch of my body felt like it was buzzing with a deep, searing kind of anger, a raw emotion that had been ignited just an hour ago. I had never anticipated that day would unfold like this never imagined I would walk in on my husband, Jake, wrapped in the arms of another woman.And not just any other woman, but the one woman who wanted to kill me and almost killed me.The initial disbelief that gripped me had since turned into fury. The thought of his betrayal gnawed at me, each second feeling like another piece of my world was breaking apart.
Kalia.I had been working for him for a couple of months now as his pr, and still I was not used to it. The fact that the very first thing I felt when Jake’s deep, masculine voice pulled me out of the deep sleep I had been in was a shiver of excitement, and not a pang of annoyance, was disturbing on a lot of levels, all of which I was too tired to analyze in that particular moment.“It’s one in the morning, Jake .” I said, as I blinked against the blinding light radiating from the screen of my smartphone. After four months in working for him, I should know better than to be surprised by a midnight phone call, but somehow every time it happened it caught me unprepared. “It’s nine a.m. in England.” He said, “And we have a crisis on our hands?” I immediately rolled over and brushed myhair out of my face, the cool sheets from the side of the bed that had been unoccupied chilling me slightly.“The sky isn’t falling, if that’s what you mean, but we have protesters lining the streets at
Kalia.And I had vowed i wouldn’t become like that. I wasn’t letting anyone have control over my life again.Although, obviously Jake had some modicum of control over my life since he was my boss and my child's father, but that was different. “If you expect me to buy new clothes you have to give me time to shop.” I said facing him with a straight face, after all this was his event he was inviting me to, it only made sense. “You can have the afternoon off.” I shook my head, my tight bun staying firmly in place. “Morning and afternoon. I need some sleep too.”“Morning to lunch hour,” he countered.“Deal.”“No black. No beige.” He added“It’s an art gala, most of the women will be in black.” I said defensively “I know, and that’s exactly why I want you to wear something else.”I frowned. “I’m not in the habit of allowing men to dictate what I wear. I can choose for myself.”He stood from his desk, and I was distracted, as I always was when he surprised me like that, by the superb sha
Jake was from a fairly affluent family, that was general knowledge. It surprised me that he’d had to take out loans to start up his company.When we were married he never talked to me about this type of stuff, or anything business related at all. Which is why I loved our new arrangement, I felt needed and smart. I was not just a pretty girl. “But now you have to play the diplomacy game,” I said.“I would anyway. I develop resort and hotel properties, the public has to have a favorable view of me.”“That’s true.”For the most part, the public did have a favorable view of him. He was charismatic and charming and dated the most eligible women in Hollywood, which put him on the front cover of a lot of magazines andmade him very high profile for a businessman. He was also a slave driving taskmaster, but only his employees knew that. And in fairness, he never expected anything from her that he didn’t expect from himself. In fact, he seemed to expect more from himself.Which was why, even
Kalia. In theory, I liked sexy men, at least from a distance. When said sexy man was both my baby daddy and boss, it made life a bit more complicated. It didn’t really matter, though. Business was business and I had no intention of crossing any lines with him. I wasn’t his type anyway. He liked party girls. The shallower, and the shorter the skirt, the better. Of course, I wasn’t entirely certain what my type was as far as practical application went. Judging by my recent string of failed dates I didn’t really have a type.“How many shots?” he asked, lowering the cup.“four,” I answered, trying to bring my mind back into the present and away, far, far away, from his lips.“Good. It’s going to be a long day.” i sat down in the chair by his desk, pulled my notebook out of my briefcase and sat poised with a pen in my hand.“Why do you do that?” he asked.“Do what?”“Take physical notes on paper. You have a million little gadgets for that kind of thing. I know because most of them were pu
Kalia. In theory, I liked sexy men, at least from a distance. When said sexy man was both my baby daddy and boss, it made life a bit more complicated. It didn’t really matter, though. Business was business and I had no intention of crossing any lines with him. I wasn’t his type anyway. He liked party girls. The shallower, and the shorter the skirt, the better. Of course, I wasn’t entirely certain what my type was as far as practical application went. Judging by my recent string of failed dates I didn’t really have a type.“How many shots?” he asked, lowering the cup.“four,” I answered, trying to bring my mind back into the present and away, far, far away, from his lips.“Good. It’s going to be a long day.” i sat down in the chair by his desk, pulled my notebook out of my briefcase and sat poised with a pen in my hand.“Why do you do that?” he asked.“Do what?”“Take physical notes on paper. You have a million little gadgets for that kind of thing. I know because most of them were pu
Jake was from a fairly affluent family, that was general knowledge. It surprised me that he’d had to take out loans to start up his company.When we were married he never talked to me about this type of stuff, or anything business related at all. Which is why I loved our new arrangement, I felt needed and smart. I was not just a pretty girl. “But now you have to play the diplomacy game,” I said.“I would anyway. I develop resort and hotel properties, the public has to have a favorable view of me.”“That’s true.”For the most part, the public did have a favorable view of him. He was charismatic and charming and dated the most eligible women in Hollywood, which put him on the front cover of a lot of magazines andmade him very high profile for a businessman. He was also a slave driving taskmaster, but only his employees knew that. And in fairness, he never expected anything from her that he didn’t expect from himself. In fact, he seemed to expect more from himself.Which was why, even
75.Jake.I had never seen Kalia look less than perfect. She always looked beautiful, even when she rushed into the office at two in the morning to handle some sort of media crisis. But in a dark navy blue gown with ruffled sleeves, a demure neckline and a back that dipped so low it ought to be illegal, she was stunning.Her hair was pinned to the side so that her curls cascaded over one shoulder, and didn’t cover any of the skin that was on display in the back of the gown. Her makeup was more dramatic than she usually wore to the office and her legs were bare, and on glorious show, the dress barely skimming her knees. And they were amazing legs.My libido kicked into gear, a reminder that I hadn’t had sex in a very long time. But business had been intense and when I hadn’t been focused on my various building projects I had been handling Maya’s big move into her new, off campus apartment. An apartment she hadn’t wanted, because she couldn’t afford it herself. But there was no way I wa
JakeI put my hand on the small of her back, on her bare skin, and I felt a small shiver go through her whole body. She was feeling every bit of the attraction I was. Strange, because I had only ever seen her in herbuttoned up professional mode for a while now, now suddenly she was unbuttoned and very, very hot. Although, she had always been hot. I had thought more thanonce about uncoiling her tightly wound hair and watching the dark curls tumble down.She shifted against me, her hip brushing my body intimately. My muscles tensed and desire roared through me, my body hardening at the accidental contact.I drew her closer, letting her feel. Letting her know exactly what she was doing to me. I didn’t hit on employees as a rule, ever. But she tempted me. And that was a new experience. Women appealed to me, and I desired them. But I had never considered them a serious temptation. If itwasn’t the right time, it was easy for me to leave my date standing on the doorstep and go home withou
KaliaI bit my lip. This side of Jake always confused me . In some ways he seemed more uncomfortable having people know anything good about him.He didn’t seem to mind the negative press that came when he dated one supermodel, then switched to an actress the next night. But he didn’t seem to want to let anyone know about his good behavior. And there was something about that that made me almost like him sometimes, and that made all the other physical things he made me feel intensify.“It’s … okay, events like this are definitely a little bit fake. It’s see and be seen. Most people are flashing their bids all over the place.” I jerked my head toward the glittering celebrities and debutantes gathered around different pieces of art, waving their bids around while they talked.“I don’t play the game,” he said. “It doesn’t appeal to me.”“You have to play the game a little bit, Jake It’s good for business.”“What’s it like for you, doing a job that’s so at odds with who you are?”The questi